


I Won't be Too Young

by ajremix



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-26 20:51:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6255370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ajremix/pseuds/ajremix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Len gets hit by a de-aging ray.  It's less fun than most the crew might think.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Won't be Too Young

A team wide recall was issued that Mick had absolutely zero problems with following considering his current mission was playing the part of Rip's big, scowly bodyguard. Along with Jax doing his best to be intimidating but mostly there because there was still contention between the older men and Rip wanted to ensure that Mick would put up an active fight if things went badly.

They got to the Waverider via _bus_ of all things. Because Rip didn't want to have to deal with Mick stealing them a car- not that Mick pushed that hard because there really wasn't a decent place to dump one within walkable distance anyway -but Rip certainly didn't question how Mick ended up with the bus fare. They got there after everyone else. Sara and Stein were leaning against the main room's table, Stein looking intrigued and Sara with her lips pinched tight like she wasn't certain how she should be feeling. They were staring into Rip's study where Ray and Kendra were both crouching down.

"What's going on," Rip asked, the tail of his great coat tossed grandly as he swept in the room like some action hero. None of his compatriots were impressed.

"Snart got hit with something," Sara's tone was almost bored but her eyes were sharp on Ray and Kendra- she still didn't miss the way Mick twitched. "He shrunk down about kid sized and Ray had to carry him back. When he woke up, he punched Ray in the eye and ran into the study. He and Kendra have been trying to coax him out since."

"It's not so much that he 'shrunk'," Stein interjected, "as he... de-aged."

"Say what?" Jax asked as the other two just stared uncomprehendingly.

"Well, shrinking implies he just got smaller which isn't the case. To all appearances at least, he has been turned into a child. A pre-teen by my guess."

Mick's expression was unusually serious for the novelty of the situation. "How young?"

"From biometric scans," Gideon said promptly, "I would approximate his is fourteen years of age."

Stein frowned. "Really?"

"Apparently he was a tiny kid," Sara replied.

Impatiently Mick asked, "He still have his memories?"

Sara shrugged. "Not from what I can tell but it's not like we've gotten much out of him. He's just been silent and won't let anyone near him."

Mick cursed and made straight for the study. Len had- foolishly, if Mick were honest -wedged himself behind one of the fancy couches with Ray and Kendra on either side, trying to look as friendly as possible with big eyes and bright smiles. Ray had a hand poised like he was thinking about grabbing Len-

"The hell you doing," Mick barked out, "don't touch him!"

The two jumped and turned to him while Len shrank back more. "What-"

"I'll deal with this. Get out."

Ray gave a small laugh, his grin lopsided due to what was rapidly becoming a black eye- a pretty impressive one given Len's current size and Mick couldn't help the spark of pride at seeing it. "No offense, Mick, but you can be a pretty scary guy and Len-"

"Is my partner. I know how to handle him. Acting like he's a scared puppy ain't how you do it. You're strangers that're making him feel trapped and he'll fight before he breaks. But I guess you hadn't figured that out yourself yet," he nodded at the darkening bruise. Not having anything to say to that, Ray and Kendra made for the exit. Mick followed them out just so he could cross his arms and plant his feet, filling the doorway, making it impossible for anyone to get in- or out -without having to squeeze in the little spaces around him. "Everyone needs to leave. Completely. No lurking just outta sight because- asides from Blondie -you all suck at staying outta sigh. And you, Magic Voice," Mick tilted his head toward the ceiling, "stay quiet. There's no message I need to hear that's more important than dealing with my partner." He looked back at the others, "I got this."

"Do you?" Rip's voice had an incredulous edge. 

Normally Mick could let it roll off his back but not this time. "You better hope so, Spaceman. Otherwise someone's gonna have to find a way to bring his sister here to talk him out."

"I thought you said you knew how to handle him."

"Yeah, but it's not gonna do a lot of good if he doesn't remember me, Birdie."

Sara sucked in a breath. "If he only has memories of his current age, he might not have met you yet."

"He told you, huh?"

"About how you met in juvie?" She shot a look at Rip when he scoffed. "After you saved him from being shanked by some other kids."

Jax hissed, "And before that he had to deal with his dad beating on him. Shit- no wonder he was trying to get away from everyone."

"Quite," Rip cleared his throat. "Very well, we'll do as instructed. Alert us if you or Mr. Snart are in need of anything."

Mick just grunted and watched until the others cleared out- some lingering more than others until they were pulled away. Satisfied that they were well and truly alone, Mick went back into the study, pulling out his concealed knife and pistol- Rip hadn't wanted him to bring the heat gun -and put them up on a high shelf. Then he settled down on one of the chairs a bit of a ways from the doorway. He could lunge if Len made an attempted break- Mick was faster than he looked -but he wasn't going to regardless. Fourteen and tiny he might've been but Len had always been a scrapper. It'd been what first got Mick's attention, after all.

"So you still Leo?" Mick asked, pulling of his gloves and tossing them onto the table nearby, "Or you Lenny now?" A tiny face peered at him from behind the couch. "Yeah, I know it's gonna be hard to believe but I know you. You been to juvie yet? You'd know me- or a younger version anyway." He studied Len- what he could see of him -as he said, "You were on the ground, bunch of little shits trying to make themselves feel big just 'cause you're so small. Then I came in breaking a couple noses, maybe a hand I think, told 'em if they wanted to teach you a lesson they could do it where they weren't in my damn way. Not that any of 'em were smart enough to figure out I had no reason to be coming down a dead end hall. You remember any of that?"

One of Len's hands curled over the back of the couch, looking at Mick in uncertainty but not denial. So it did happen. Some time back given his knuckles weren't bruised. "You were like my damn shadow after that. I acted irritated but I never pushed you away. Staff eventually had you bunk with me because the other kids, they figured lights out was the only time they could get at you without me around."

Len was pulling further away from the couch and it was shocking to remember what he looked like before Captain Cold, before he perfected his poker face. His expression was of full blown disbelief, not at what Mick was saying but the fact Mick knew all these things.

"You had to deal with my nightmares yet?" Quietly Len nodded. "First time, you climbed into my bunk and held me because that's what you did for your sister. Don't remember what I said- never do -but I remember how good it felt to have you there. Stroked me like a damn pet but I forgot what it was like to be touched. Gentle like. I couldn't have let you go if I wanted to." Mick smirked at a sudden thought. "Guess in a way I never did. In the morning the guards found me wrapped around you like an octopus. Got in so much shit for that, thought the only reason I tolerated you was 'cause I was forcing myself on you. Tried to keep us separate after I got out of solitary. But you always found a way back to me." His throat tightened up momentarily. "Always."

"Mick?" He stepped away from the couch entirely, as big-eared and knobby-kneed as Mick remembered. He'd had been expecting Len to be wearing his usual clothes- he would've laughed to see his pint-sized partner swimming in them -but instead he was wearing clothes that actually fit him. Likely Kendra's doing- she was the most thoughtful of the crew and one of the more practically minded. He spotted the pile of clothes on the floor behind the couch. "What happened to you?"

He laughed. "Ain't what happened to me- 's what happened to _you_. You got kiddified somehow. That's your clothes over there."

"This... what," he looked around, biting at his lower lip, trying to find what question he needed to ask. "Where are we?"

"Time machine, believe it or not. Called the Waverider."

"We're time travelers?"

"More or less." He wasn't about to get into that right now.

"What happened?" Len pointed at the burn scars that crept up Mick's neck.

He was _definitely_ not getting into that. "Job gone south."

"We're... together, right?" Len looked at his clothes, then at Mick. "A team? That's why you're here?"

"We've had rough patches, but yeah." Mick leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "We're a team."

"Those other people?"

"Also part of the team." He saw what Len wasn't asking. "But we're partners."

"And Lisa?" The question was hesitant, almost soft.

"She's not here but she's good. A hellion with a wicked gun and a big brother that taught her everything she knows."

That got him a brief twitch of a smile before an even softer, "My dad?"

"Dead." Len's head jerked up at him. "You killed him when he threatened Lisa for the last time."

His lips tightened and eyes hardened. "Good."

The conversation ebbed, not exactly leaving an uncomfortable silence but definitely a different one than either was used to. Eventually Mick asked, "You wanna meet the others?" Len shifted, obviously not wanting to but not willing to say it. "You wanna eat?" He nodded. "Alright- Gideon."

"Yes, Mr. Rory?"

Len started, crouching down and staring at the ceiling. "What the hell was that?"

"Gideon. Controls the ship, is the ship, whatever. Like outta..." Mick waved a hand, drawing a blank, "whatever nerdy sci-fi thing you like where ships talk."

"Oh." Then a slow, awed smile. "Cool."

"Tell anyone in the kitchen to clear out, we're heading down there." He paused and added, "And if I catch anyone gawking, I'm gonna break their face. My partner's no sideshow."

"I will pass along the message." She then added after a brief pause, "Captain Hunter says he requires the study in order to find a means of restoring Mr. Snart to normal."

"Alright." Mick grabbed his things, then Len's clothes from the floor. He couldn't really complain if that was the case. "Let's go."

Len trotted after him and Mick couldn't get over how damn small he was. He'd always known, of course- Len had been well shy of five feet when they first met, but now Mick was nearly twice his size. He wondered at what point Len managed to get all that height. "Mick," Len's voice bordered on guilty, "that guy I punched earlier-"

"Not the first time you punched him."

Len grunted, relieved he hadn't done anything wrong. Or at least out of character.

~*~*~*~

A couple hours had passed since Mick had coaxed Len out from behind the couch and Mick had moved them from the galley to the rec room. He didn't want any of the others to see Len like that but he wasn't about to lock himself and the kid in the tiny room Rip called 'personal quarters' for longer than necessary. He might have convinced Len that he was the same guy that saved him but he didn't have Len's complete trust yet. There was always a buffer of space around them, several arm lengths, as if Len always tried to have an escape route or two handy.

Now, though, Len was entertaining himself by asking Gideon a million and one questions, some about time travel, some about the things the both of them did as an adult, anything he could get on Lisa, occasionally about their other teammates. Mick was just sprawled in a chair, watching boring tv in a language he didn't understand and didn't feel like switching his translator to.

Gideon interrupted Len in the middle of a question, "Mr. Rory, Captain Hunter has requested I alert you to the fact that he is on his way to speak with you."

Len stilled and Mick surged to his feet. He didn't go to stand in the doorway again but he was close enough to it to make it clear he didn't want anyone coming in. Len moved to stand by him, a show of solidarity, that he had Mick's back even when he was a tiny twig of a thing. It made something warm and fond burst in Mick's chest, ignoring the fact that Len was also standing partly behind him for protection.

A second later Rip rounded the corner of the hall. Another second later, various heads poked into view, trying to get a look at little Captain Cold. "I apologize for the ducklings," Rip cast a backwards look at the rest of the team, "but I'm afraid your threat of physical harm has worn off. I do, however, have good news. And some bad, but mostly good."

"What is it," Mick rumbled. His opinion on the man before him might've shifted slightly seeing the way Rip was resolutely not stealing a glance at Len. The others, however... Mick shifted his weight to cover Len more, making it obvious he knew what they were doing and was not having it.

"The technology capable of doing this to Mr. Snart is not unheard of in my time though it is extremely rare. I assure you, we will be looking into how such a device has come back to this period. Though we don't know precisely which device it was, they all work on the same principle, so their effects are all the same. Including how to return one to normal."

"Which is?"

Rip spread out a hand. "We wait. Age regression takes an _astounding_ amount of energy, once the residual energy is gone, the body will return to its natural state with no inherent side-effects. The bad news is we can't speed up the process, but the good news is Gideon has calculated he should be back to normal before morning.

"Now that we know that our compatriot is in no danger," he said loudly, looking back down the hall, "I do believe we all still have missions to accomplish." Rip lowered his voice and turned to Mick. "Again, Mr. Rory, if you are in need of anything, let me know."

"Sure." He watched Rip leave, waving his arms like he was herding the others away. Huh. Maybe he was learning to not be a jackass after all.

~*~*~*~

After everyone had gone Mick let Len have free run of the ship, following several steps behind as the kid explored whichever direction caught his fancy. He sat in the captain's chair like he was in one of those Star Trek shows he liked so much, wove in and out of the parts for the engine room, dug through the boxes in storage- not Sara's though, Mick had been very firm on that -and then riffled through all the things in Rip's study he hadn't had the time to look at before. It was both heartwarming and heart rending to see Len so openly excited. He actually looked like a little kid and Mick almost wished Lewis wasn't dead just to he could burn the fucker alive. Slow roast. Make him pay for every second he made his children feel fear.

A yawn broke Mick out of the dark turn of his thoughts, Len rubbing at an eye with the heel of a palm, listing to one side of his chair while trying to read through one of Rip's books. That wasn't happening- Mick had seen Len exhausted before, age hadn't changed any of the signs.

"C'mon, Lenny." He snatched up the book and snapped it shut before Len could do more than give a soft, irritated 'hey'. "Let's get you to bed." It was relatively early but his body working through all that de-aging energy probably put a strain on him.

Mick lead him down the Waverider to the personal quarters. He pointed out Len's room and watched as the kid stood in the doorway, looking at the small space. There wasn't much personalization, just a couple books, reading glasses, the various tools Len always kept on his person and a case to hold his cold gun. Which Sara had replaced when they returned and Mick had verified the presence of.

Len looked up at Mick, "What about you?"

"I'm across the hall."

Len stood there fidgeting, tugging at the hem of his shirt and gnawing on his lower lip. Mick sighed and decided to take pity on the kid. "You wanna stay the night with me, I'm not stopping you." He only just caught the beaming smile on Len's face before stepped into the room. Mick pulled open a drawer where Len kept his sleep clothes and pulled out a shirt that probably wouldn't fall off him. Then he got Len's hygiene bag, shoved them both at the kid and pointed him to the bathroom to get ready.

Mick's room, as opposed to his partner's, was more of a mess. Like Len he didn't keep much in the ways of personal effects but what he did have tended to be tossed wherever. Also Len spent more time in there than his own room so really it was more shared space than Mick's own. He did a quick cleaning- shoving everything into drawers -and switched out the bedsheets. He had to go back to Len's room for blankets and an extra pillow. Mick had just enough time to strip to his boxers and pull on a tank top before Len got back.

He knocked on the door and Mick reached backward for the panel to activate it while tossing his clothes into the laundry pile in the corner. He heard Len suck in a breath behind him and cursed himself for not thinking to wear something long sleeved. He didn't often like other people seeing his scars- not so much because Mick got self conscious over them as it was the fear or pity they got him tended to get on his nerves more often than not. He never had that concern with Len but then this was a much younger Len.

Stiffly Mick pulled back the covers on the bed. "In." Len wedged himself up against the wall. Mick had thought he got into that habit when they started sharing the same bed, keeping Mick between him and the door for protection. Looked like it started earlier and Mick just hadn't picked up on it. "I'll be right back." He said, then went off to brush his teeth.

When he got back he got into bed hardly without acknowledging Len and ordered Gideon to turn off the lights. He could feel Len's eyes on him in the dark so Mick turned on his side. Even if it meant turning those scars to Len, it also meant Mick could pretend he couldn't feel the regret in Len's expression. The same regret Len hadn't quite covered up when he'd first seen the scars after their reunion.

A hand, small and hesitant, touched his back. Mick couldn't feel much, just the pressure as fingers moved over his burns. "Does it hurt?"

"Not anymore." Not really. Sometimes they did, but that was rare now.

"Was I there for it?"

'Eventually' nearly slipped out of Mick's mouth before he caught it. He turned onto his back, the faint lighting in the room making Len's small face barely visible. He settled on, "You came back, Lenny. Always did. Even if sometimes it took longer than others."

Before he could turn back on his side Len draped himself over Mick's chest, fitting his head where he could hear Mick's heartbeat. Mick wasn't certain what to do, eventually settling a hand on a tiny shoulder. He took in the twist of Len's spine and said, "That's gonna get uncomfortable."

"Don't care." A hand fisted against his shirt. "It's where I wanna be."

Mick sighed, running his hand through Len's short hair and thought ' _Why can't you say that when you're thirty years older_ ' before drifting to sleep.

~*~*~*~

A kiss woke him up. Soft. Wet. Gentle and exploratory. Mick hadn't been kissed like that in years and he welcomed it with a soft sighed moan. The kiss deepened and a hand moved over his chest, fingertips rubbing circles where a nipple was pressed against the thin material of his tank top. The sudden memory of ' _Len's fourteen_ ' flashed through Mick's brain in a panic and he jerked back, adrenaline and shame flushing all the sleep out of him.

Fully adult Len was leaning over him, crooked smirk on his face.

"You ass!" Mick smacked his arm, more of a shove than a hit. "I thought you were still a kid!"

"How kind of you to protect younger me's virtue." His lips moved over Mick's jaw, down to his ear where he took the lobe between his teeth and sucked. It was difficult- Len was being more overtly affection than normal which was something Mick had always taken advantage of because it was so rare -but he was absolutely giving Len the silent treatment. When he realized it, Len pulled back with a half grin curling his lips, softer than normal. "You do know a part of me was in love with you since I was fourteen, right?" He tacked on belatedly, "Originally."

"Doesn't matter, I don't touch kids." His palm, rough but gentle, skimmed over Len's jaw and it was shocking how much of a relief it was to feel stubble there. "Thirty plus years is too much of an age gap to get over."

"Good thing it's back down to two again. Otherwise you wouldn't let me do this," he palmed Mick's crotch, feeling it twitch and harden. Mick's breathing hitched and he parted his lips just enough to lick them. That made Len lean forward to kiss him again, chasing after his tongue.

When they parted, Mick's voice was rough with arousal. "Hormones get to you, Lenny?"

"Who knows." He gave his partner a squeeze that left him moaning. "But why not take advantage of it if that's the case?"

"Better than watching you go through puberty."

"Agreed. Now, if we're done talking about children," Len slid down the length of Mick's body, tugging his boxers down his hips, "I'm much more interested in limiting your vocabulary."

Mick was certainly happy to oblige.


End file.
